This is not an entirely new image in so much it is a picture that I have been developing over several years by making refinements to my garden pond set-up. It all started 6 or 7 years ago when I dug a shallow pool into the lawn. The edges were still bare mud when the local swallows arrived back and they soon began to collect nest material from the edge of the pool. Needless to say it didn't take long before I had a hide set-up. Three years later I had replaced this pond with a purpose built 'infinity' pool based on a design by the Hungarian photographer Bence Mate. At the end of the pool I placed a line of mud, again for the swallows and it worked fine and I was able to experiment with obtaining flight shots as they landed. Having nailed that shot I decided to tweak the pool somewhat the year after by doubling its length. This now allows for the mud to be placed part way down the pool and to shoot the incoming swallows against the water. The shot however, still depends on several variables. Good light to achieve a fast shutter speed; little or ideally no wind to have flat calm water; and the birds flying towards the camera. With these ingredients and a combination of good framing and a slice of luck I occasionally get a shot I'd hoped for.